The online discretionary fund manager, Nutmeg, has launched
an aggressive new advertising campaign on the London Underground critiquing the
fund management industry.

The UK-based direct-to-consumer platform has put up adverts
depicting fund managers as “fat cats”, adding that its own services has a
one-off, low fee and no hidden charges.

The advert, which features the slogan “Does your investment
manager skim off a fortune?” will feature on all London underground lines from today,
targeting investors with assets between £30,000 ($48,280) and £100,000, the firm told WealthBriefing.

This group of investors is key to the firm as they are ones
that have fallen into the advice gap created by the Retail Distribution Review, said chief marketing
officer Iqbal Gandham. The RDR programme of reforms - which stamp out commissions paid to advisors, has been cited as a reason for why some financial institutions have cut back on serving those clients seen as unprofitable, creating a large chunk of "orphan" clients. Nutmeg, and some other firms such as BestInvest, are seeking ways to cater to this group.

The campaign also includes another series of adds, asking
clients whether “they’re left in the dark”. Gandham told this publication that
Nutmeg hopes to show customers that the firm offers transparency, as well as
low fees. For instance, Nutmeg’s charges range from 1 per cent for assets of
£1,000 to 0.3 per cent for assets of £500,000 and above.

“There is an old way and a new way in the investment
industry. We think there should be a move towards transparency of charges in the
industry, that is the new way and that is what we think Nutmeg offers to
investors through our service,” added Gandham.

Nutmeg, which launched its online investment platform in
October 2012, plans to publish performance figures for its service in the next
three weeks.